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Ep. 5: The Uneven Strange Gamers
is the fifth episode of Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. It is the first of a two-part story with the Kakuranger facing allied Yokai Nurikabe and Mokumokuren. Synopsis Saizou finds himself trapped in a deadly maze with a young boy as part of a bet between a mysterious pair of men, and must make it out alive. Plot The story begins with Saizou in a store, trying on coats and flirting with the saleswoman. Unfortunately, he can’t actually afford any of them, and flees, much to the saleswoman’s chagrin. Leaving the store, complaining about being poor, he sees a young boy walk into the street, right into the path of a truck. With a quick dive, Saizou saves the boy. He checks the boy over to see if he’s okay, and they go their separate ways. But the boy notices that, in the excitement, Saizou had dropped his wallet, but he’s too already too far away to hear the boy’s yells. Elsewhere, a strange man in a hoodie arrives at a western style house to meet with an equally strange man in a coat, apologizing for being late. The hoodie man chastises the coat man for not setting “it” up, who is busy making coffee. The hoodie man pulls a tub of water out of a nearby closet, vowing to beat the coat man this time. He wonders who they should go with this time, and dips his fingers in the water. Somehow, the image of Nekomaru appears in the water. Speaking of Nekomaru, Tsuruhime is hard at work selling crepes by herself. Saizou comes running up, only to get yelled at for skipping work. Apparently the other Kakurangers had run off as well. Saizou realizes that his wallet is missing and begins to panic, but the boy conveniently comes running up, wallet in hand. The odd couple has seen this transpire through the tub of water, and the hoodie man decides that they will use Saizou and the boy for whatever it is they’re planning. The hoodie man stirs the water while chanting, and back at Nekomaru, Saizou and the boy disappear in a warp. They find themselves dropped into a maze and separated. The odd couple makes their bets on who will make it out of the maze, the hoodie man on the boy, and the coat man on Saizou. Saizou and the boy frantically run through the maze, hitting dead ends and going in circles, much to the odd couples delight. Their troubles are multiplied when the maze begins to change, and deadly traps spring up around them. Much to Saizou's horror, he finds that his Doron Changer doesn't work. Meanwhile, Tsuruhime brings the other Kakurangers to where she saw Saizou and the boy disappear, and they quickly determine that a youkai was behind it. They try to contact Saizou through the Doron Changers, but they can’t reach him. Back in the maze, Saizou finds the exit, much the coat man’s delight, who finds himself ten gold coins richer. The hoodie man vows vengeance on the boy for his lose. Bursting through the exit door of the maze, Saizou finds himself in front of an odd western-style house, the very same house, unknown to Saizou, the odd couple lives in. The coat man appears out of the mist, and gives Saizou a gold coin in thanks for helping him win, and disappears again. Suddenly, Saizou hears the boy scream from inside the house. The hoodie man has cornered him, vowing to squash him flat, and reveals his true form: the youkai Nurikabe. Saizou calls the rest of the Kakurangers on his Doron Changer, telling them that he has no idea where he is, only that it’s in front of a western style house. He hears the boy scream again inside the house, and rushes in. He rushes back out again, remembering that ninpo doesn’t work in there, and changes into NinjaBlue before going in. Sandayuu appears before the other Kakurangers to tell them to trust their instincts in order to find Saizou (it turns out Sandayuu doesn’t know where he is either), advice that only baffles the Kakurangers. Nonetheless, they run off to find Saizou. In the maze, the boy is under attack by Nurikabe as Saizou dashes through the maze to reach him. After a close call with a spike trap, he decides to take the easy way and just smashes his way through the maze walls, reaching the boy in no time. Nurikabe summons a band of machine-gun toting Dorodoros. They hold back Saizou for a bit, but he finds himself saved by the arrival of the other Kakurangers. They apparently found him on instinct, which impresses Saizou. The boy runs off, and the Kakurangers take out the Dorodoros. They change and escape, ending up in a field for the showdown with Nurikabe. Nurikabe transforms into a leaner, more battle ready form, and the fight begins. Despite being pelted with bricks, the Kakuranger’s ninpo allow them to take down Nurikabe with ease. Sensing defeat, Nurikabe grows into a giant. Saizou, wanting revenge for being used in game like a pawn, transforms into Blue Rougan. During the fight, Saizou smashes Nurikabes house and the maze within. Right when Saizou is about to deliver the final blow, a giant eye appears him the sky, and whisks Nurikabe away. After the fight, the Kakurangers meet back up with the boy. Saizou asks the boy where his wallet is, but it seems he dropped it somewhere in the now destroyed maze. Before Saizou can go into full panic, he remembers the gold coin the coat man gave him. Tsuruhime thinks it could be worth a lot of money. The Kakurangers fight over the coin, and in the struggle, it falls through a sewer grate. Saizou bursts into tears. Elsewhere, the coat man and the injured-but-bandaged hoodie man vow their vengeance on the Kakurangers. Cast * : * : * : * : * : * : *The Announcer: Guest Cast * : * : *Yoichi: *Boutique Clerk: Notes *'Eyecatch' **'Featured Kakuranger (Pre-Break):' NinjaBlue **'Featured Kakuranger (Post-Break):' NinjaBlue *Although it's stated that Saizou couldn't transform inside the maze (and later he had to transform outside the house due to the same reason), Tsuruhime and the other Kakurangers did transform inside it. *The Rock used to chase Saizou was the same one used by Lamy in Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. *The house used by Nurikabe & Mokumokuren previously appeared as monster hideouts in Kamen Rider Black RX episodes 20 & 36. DVD Releases *''Ninja Sentai Kakuranger'' Volume 1 features episodes 1-11.http://www.toei-video.co.jp/DVD/kakurenger.html *The complete Kakuranger series was released in North America by Shout! Factory in 2016. See Also References Category:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Category:Sentai episodes Category:Written by Noboru Sugimura